The market for fresh fruit is widespread. Fruit growing areas such as California and Chile use approximately 120 million grape containers and 70 million tree fruit containers per year. Typically, table grapes and tree fruit are packed in layers in shipping containers. A paper liner is used on the bottom and along the sides of the container to prevent damage to the fruit. These containers are typically disposed of after each use.
Fresh fruit such as table grapes requires special handling techniques prior to and during shipment to maintain freshness. Table grapes for example are packed in the shipping containers then the shipping containers are stacked on palettes (typically 60 or 90 containers per palette). The palettes are then placed in a refrigerated warehouse where they are force air cooled (in some instances up to 8 hours). It is desirable to have a container that has sufficient strength to allow the palettes to be stacked three high in the warehouse.
One known type of grape shipping container consists of two wooden end plates with a wood laminated fiberboard panel wrap nailed to the sides and bottom of the wooden end plates to form the container. The lid consists of a fiberboard panel with a wooden strip stapled to each end. The wooden strips on the lid have slots in their edges so that the lid can be attached to the container by sliding the slots under nails extending out of the top of the two wooden end plates. The table grapes can be damaged if they touch the wooden end plates during shipment so a paper liner is added to the inside of the container to protect the grapes. The wooden end plates are very costly and the container can not be recycled without dissembling the container which is costly. In addition, the containers tend to slide around relative to each other during transportation. The sliding of the containers risks damage to the fruit and results in the stacks of containers leaning off the palettes.
Another known type of grape container is a corrugated fiberboard box with a lid that consists of two flaps attached to the sides of the container. The corrugated fiberboard box is folded from one single-layered corrugated panel. The corrugated panel overlaps itself several times at the ends of the box to form multi-layered ends for strength. However, the corrugated fiberboard box can generally only be stacked two palettes high because moisture and the pressure caused by strapping the containers down on the palettes cause the containers to collapse thus damaging the fruit. The grapes packed in corrugated fiberboard containers also typically have to be force air cooled for longer periods of time because of the insulating nature of the corrugated fiberboard. The corrugated fiberboard box has stacking tabs on each end to try to prevent sliding of the containers relative to each other. But these tabs are of limited use because moisture tends to cause the tabs to weaken. The corrugated fiberboard is sometimes passed through shower of wax that provides some degree of water repellency. However, the corrugated fiberboard box is not recyclable because of the wax added to the fiberboard.
A third known type of grape container consists of injection molded polypropylene end plates with a fiberboard panel nailed to the sides and bottom of the end plates similar to the wooden end plate container. Likewise, the lid attaches in the same manner. The injection molded end plates are less expensive than the wooden end plates, however the container can not be recycled without dissembling the container to separate the nails from the plastic end plates which is costly. In addition, the containers tend to slide around relative to each other during transportation risking damage to the fruit.
There is a continuing and long-felt need to provide a cost-efficient fruit container that can be stacked at least three palettes high without leaning or collapsing. In addition, it is desirable to have a fruit container that is completely recyclable without having to disassemble the container.